children accessing porn; adults turning off filterware (was Re: Selection)

[Laura Quilter]

> At 07:35 AM 7/7/97 -0700, Ronnie Morgan wrote:
> 
> >Also, the post about ALA and it's stand on filters is irrelevant (at least
> >to this debate) since it can't be argued that children have the "right" to
> >porn.  And, since adults can/should ask to have the filter program turned
> >off, no one is losing thier "Constitutionally protected speech".

Actually, Ronnie, it *can* be argued that children have the "'right' to
porn."  And the argument might in fact be relevant to this discussion.
But I think there are so many technical and other philosophical problems
with filterware in the public library setting, that it is probably not
worth it to get into a broad discussion of children's rights etc.  Rest
assured, however, that those arguments do exist, and that you ought to be
questioning ALL your assumptions.

Some of the technical and philosophical problems, by the way, are embedded
in the second half of your paragraph: "adults can/should ask to have the
filter program turned off."  A few very quick problems I can see: 
	1) Any person that might fall under your category "can ask to have
it turned off" might not be aware that the software is installed;
	2) Any person that might fall under your category "can ask to have
it turned off"  might not understand what the software does or that it can
be turned off;
	3) Any person that might fall under your category "can ask to have
it turned off" might not grasp that information to which they want to have
access might be blocked -- i.e., that filterware does a rough and crude
hack job, or that the library's particular categories of sites which have
been filtered out contain material of value to that patron;
	4) I'd be interested to look at the cache after the filter program
was turned off and back on again, suspecting that extra difficulties lie
in wait for librarians here; 
	5) Requiring librarian intervention to access particular materials
may be regarded as undesireable.

Laura Quilter / lauramd at uic.edu
Electronic Services Librarian
University of Illinois at Chicago